Thursday, November 26, 2009

NFL Thanksgiving In Review

- I am eternally thankful for Aaron Rodgers to Donald Driver. Really wishing that I hadn't dropped Green Bay's defense, but when they give up 38 points to the Bucs and a QB making his first NFL start, do you really have a choice? Stafford came back down to earth, and while the Packers could have easily scored a couple more TD's, I'll take 54 fantasy points from my 3 Packers happily. Nice to see Rodgers getting better protection the past few weeks, and since I dislike just about every other NFC contender, I guess the Packers will be the team that I root for in the NFC the rest of the way. Green Bay has definitely paved itself a nice path to secure one of the two NFC wild card spots, and with their turnover inducing defense (something like a +23 turnover margin this year) and an explosive offense with a vastly improving and healthier offensive line, they should be the team that nobody wants to face.

- Wow that Dallas-Oakland game could not have possibly gone worse. I absolutely loathe both teams and wish they could both lose, but since Dallas was the only team with a shot at the playoffs, I very begrudgingly rooted for the Raiders. How are we friends again Ryan? Seriously we HATE every single one of each other's favorite teams. Miles Austin (who my opponent has) of course blew up, as Oakland inexplicably let him run wild through their zones all day, and when they did put man coverage on him, let their #2 corners, and safeties cover Dallas' only deep play threat. What they were using Asomugha (sp?) who always shuts down opponents' top WR for is beyond me. Did they seriously use him to cover Roy Williams instead of Austin, because if they did, then Tom Cable should be fired immediately! And of course Marion Barber turned in another dud, failing to reach pay dirt for the 48392080th straight game. I do (although this hurts) have to give mad props to the Dallas defense which has played absolutely fantastic football for the past month, and is the only reason Dallas is where they are right now. The D-Line led by Ware and Ratliff put forth such a fierce pass rush, the linebackers especially Keith Brooking clean up on all the key tackles, and their secondary has improved vastly, limiting the big plays when they are often left on man coverage due to Dallas' propensity to blitz. I'm hard-pressed to find a defense that is playing better right now, but the next month will of course be a HUGE challenge for the D and the whole team. Can Romo, Phillips, and Co. finally get over their December/January curse and win big games in cold weather?

- Wish that I had the NFL Network, but I don't so I missed the game, but WTF Giants?! Did Denver actually show up for a big game finally, or did you just lay a huge egg? There's obviously plenty of blame to go around, but the most disturbing number for me is Brandon Jacobs: 10 carries for 23 yards. What happened to the Giants football team that ran the football 25+ times a game for 150+ yards, ate up the clock and wore down defenses? This is the same Denver defense that got absolutely dismantled by San Diego last week.

- Still, Dallas has a murderous schedule to finish the season: @NYG, SD, @NO, @WAS, PHI, so the division is definitely still up for grabs, if the G-Men can rebound and win next weekend. Should be a fun game to watch, as Dallas-Giants battles are ALWAYS hard fought and come down to the last few minutes of the game.

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